Dragons' Souls
by MarigoldWolf
Summary: Being a dragon rider was hard enough, now Ren and his friends are thrown into a new battle against good and evil far from the normal world they grew up in. They'll have to not only watch out for themselves, but their dragons as well. Of course, if they're to help the Signers in this fight, Ren will have to conquer some demons of the past. Eventual Yusei/OC (boyxboy).
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay! Here's the prologue's rewrite! A bit of the beginning may be the same, but I hope the rest is changed up enough to be a better read. Enjoy!**

 **Ren- Rider of Ruby the Night Fury**

 **Eric- Rider of Laurel the Monstrous Nightmare**

 **Jazz- Rider of Nilima the Razorwhip**

 **AJ- Rider of Shiloh the Boneknapper**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own _Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's_ nor _How to Train Your Dragon_. Both go to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.**

"Words." = human speech

" _Words."_ = dragon speech (only in Ren's, Eric's, Jazz's, AJ's, Ruby's, Laurel's, Nilima's, or Shiloh's POV's/general at times)

 **Prologue- A Change of Pace and Fate:**

" _Aaaaahhhhh!_ " a young man yelled as he sat up quickly in his bed. He panted, looking around the room before sighing in relief. "Just...Just a dream..." He placed his hands on his legs...or rather leg. Another sigh. _Well...at least, partly._ He pushed the blanket off. His left leg was missing from below the knee. _I'm left with half a leg as a reminder. Along with various other scars here and there._

He reached to where a crutch was propped against the wall at the head of his bed and got out of bed. He walked to a table that had on top what seemed to be a mix of a prosthetic leg and peg leg with a flat bottom where the 'foot' would be. _Should be okay to use today, right? I mean...AJ did say to wait at least a day to let the metal cool off...screw it, I'm putting it on whether it's ready or not!_ Sitting down in a chair he pulled up, he pulled up the left pant leg, grabbed the prosthetic, and started to secure it on.

"I should talk with AJ about not having so many damned straps. How many does it need, anyhow? All they do is scrape up the skin at this point," he muttered, getting the prosthetic secured onto his leg. "That should do it. Now for the-" He was cut off as a thud came from above along with a roar. Any other person would have been scared stiff, but fortunately he knew what was the source of the roar...or rather, _who_. "Always impatient." He finished making sure the straps were secure, standing up. "Whew, it works. If I broke it after she just got done fixing it...spirits help me."

As soon as he got dressed and stepped out of his house, a black creature jumped from the roof with a slight roar. The creature had two large bat-like wings with slightly smaller wing-like appendages behind them, a large and slightly flat head with a short neck, big blood-red eyes, strange flame markings under the eyes, two ear-like appendages on top of its head, a long tail with fins at the end, and dull-looking spines running from the top of its head down its back and tail. It walked on four legs. _"About time you got up!"_

"Well, excuse me, but I tend to like sleeping in," the young man retorted.

" _Yeah, but you take forever to wake up."_

"You know, you could have done the morning flight without me. It's not like you need me to be able to fly."

" _Sure, I could, but it isn't nearly as enjoyable."_

"Without me screaming for my life every time you speed up when I least expect it?"

" _Yep!"_

He sighed, shaking his head. "You are going to be the death of me, you know that, Ruby."

" _Doubt that, Ren."_

The young man—Ren—walked toward a shed attached to part of the house. He walked in, Ruby staying outside. "You're just lucky I was awake this early for us to catch the morning rise."

" _Lemme guess, you didn't get a full night of sleep?"_

"Hey, I've got insomnia."

Ruby rolled his eyes. _"Ren, I'm many things, but ignorant is not one of them."_

Ren paused in getting his flight suit on, sighing. "Drop it, Ruby. It's not that important. It's just the past."

 _Yet it controls you to this day,_ the dragon wanted to say, but he held his tongue. It was no secret that his rider hated talking about what happened to him. Though, practically everyone had heard it whether from the news or being the ones to see him during recovery. Even after almost a year and a half since the incident, they still wanted Ren to give the full details as to what happened. Especially to make sure that the leader of that group of hunters stays behind bars for life. _But no matter who asks—whether it's me, his sisters, or his best friends—Ren won't answer the questions._

A few minutes later, Ren walked out in his riding suit and carrying Ruby's saddle. The riding suit was a deep red in the middle with the outer parts a dark blue. White splotches decorated the dark blue part like embers from a flame. The shoulder guards were the same shade of blue as the suit and featured a white flame on the sides. "Still debating whether to wear the gloves or not." He held said gloves in his hand.

" _I probably would considering you like setting that sword of yours on fire."_

"Come on, you have to admit it's cool."

" _I'm a fire-breathing dragon. Are you really going to stereotype me?"_

"Well, according to Hiccup's notes-"

" _Forget it."_

Ren laughed, slipping the gloves on while juggling the saddle. He walked up to Ruby. Both he and the dragon worked to get the saddle on before Ren went back into the shed, coming back out with a sheathed sword and a few bags. "Never know how long we'll be out. Plus, we might need the sword just in case we get a call."

" _Who's gonna call us on our day off?"_

"You never know." Ren made sure the bags and sword were secure, climbing onto the saddle right after. "Okay, captain. Prepare for takeoff!"

" _Here we go!"_

Ruby spread his wings, giving a strong flap to get them airborne. They started heading in a random direction. No patrols were scheduled for the two today, leaving them to their own devices. Ruby let out a happy roar and sped up, causing Ren to yelp and grip the saddle harder. "Geez! Word of warning, will ya?!"

" _Sorry, can't hear you!"_

 _Can't hear me, he says. This dragon is going to be the death of me one day, I swear._ "Fine then, wise guy. Give me your best!"

" _You asked for it!"_

(Scene Shift- POV shift to Ren's)

After about an hour of zipping around the sky at his fastest speed, Ruby slowed down and landed us on a small rock outcropping in the ocean. I climbed off the saddle, pulling the bags off as well before Ruby went about rolling in the dirt. _"Whoo! What a rush!"_

"What, flying as fast as you can, or giving me a heart attack mid-flight?" I questioned, placing the bags down.

" _A bit of both, to be honest."_

"At least I don't have to worry about you in the upcoming dragon races."

" _Pff, with me on the team, the other dragons will be eating our dust!"_

"I hope you realize that'd be hard to do in a flying contest."

" _Smart ass."_

"Speed-crazed dragon."

" _You don't complain 'bout it as much as you used to."_

"It's called 'exposure therapy to your biggest fear' which is heights in my case."

" _Among many other things."_

"Yeah yeah." I dropped the bags into the grass before sitting down in it myself, leaning back. Everything seemed to be slowing down as far as excitement goes. Other than a few hiccups, it's been relatively peaceful. But...there's a bit of a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, like something's building. _Whatever it is...someone else can take care of it. I've already had enough shit on my plate with the events of those hunters. The only thing I want to be focusing on is the races coming up. That's it. Even then...I don't know if I'm going in with a full team or not, considering the debacle with Eric._

I laid down and let my thoughts drift off. I was enjoying the quiet (minus the sounds of nature and the light snoring of the Night Fury near me) until my cell started going off. I groaned, sitting up. "Damn it all...I thought I made it clear I'm on a day off!"

" _More like a week off,"_ Ruby muttered.

"Shut up." I flipped open the small bag on my waist, pulling the phone out. The caller ID said it was Jazz. "Okay, maybe it's not about my duties." I answered and put the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Ren! We've got a problem!"

"Ow! Jeez, any louder and my eardrums will burst, Jazz."

"This isn't a joking matter. Something's come up!"

"Whatever it is, I think AJ is more than capable of-"

"Eric and Laurel are missing!"

I froze, letting those words sink in. "Hold up. What are you talking about? Eric and Laurel going missing is like winning the lottery. It hardly _ever_ happens."

"That's just it. Eric and Laurel had gone out on a private mission to investigate the area where those undocumented dragons were seen. He said he'd meet up with me later for a sparring match."

"Okay, how does this fit in with them going miss-"

"That was _three days_ ago, that's what!"

"Three days?! You didn't think to call, I dunno, Ace or someone more qualified?!"

"Well..." I heard some background noise from the other end. I couldn't hear what was said, but the phone must have been exchanged.

"Ren?" AJ—my twin sister and second in command of our team—said.

"Okay, what's the deal? Why call _me_ to go look for him instead of a dragon rider of higher qualifications?"

"It was my idea to call you because it will give you two time to make up for whatever that fight was about. It'll prove to him that you still care about him as a friend, Ren. We want you both to make up for what you two said to each other. It's driving us crazy we can't have you both in the same room without you both giving each other death glares."

"..."

"Are you listening to me, Lorenzo?"

 _I hate it when she uses my full name..._ "*sigh* Yes, I'm listening."

"Then what's your answer?"

"I'll go, but I doubt anything's going to be fixed automatically, AJ."

"Fine. Just work out the best you can. And I mean it, or I'll be testing some new fighting techniques on the two of you myself."

"Yes, ma'am." We hung up. "Damn, I swear AJ is the most intimidating person in existence."

" _Only to you. And are we going where I think we are?"_

"Sounds like we'll have to. Unless we want me to end up with more bruises than a boxing champion."

" _Yeah, considering how much you whine after a bout with your sister."_

"Hey! Like you aren't scared of her, either!"

" _True, but I have Shiloh to help protect me."_

"Ugh. You dragons..."

I secured all the bags back onto Ruby, the two of us taking off and heading toward the place. It was a bit of a long flight as we were in the complete opposite direction to that whole area. Why? Because it's more creepy than any place that houses Smothering Smokebreaths. The whole perimeter is covered in fog, few trees, and like no wildlife within miles of the place. Kind of like the animals are even too scared of it. Hell, _dragons_ are scared to fly over it and end up flying as far away from it as possible. Why the unknown dragons like it there, I can never guess. The only thing I can think of is that they like the privacy.

We landed right in the middle of the area, a cloud of loose dirt flying into the air when we landed. I coughed, waving my hand to clear it away. _God, I kind of wonder if there's ever been_ any _life here. It looks more like some dragons just torched it and skedaddled,_ I thought as I scanned the area. "Ruby, use your echolocation to see if there's some caves around."

" _All right then."_ He let out a roar around our location, switching different sides whenever he shook his head in dismissal. _"I can't seem to find anything here."_

"Okay. Let's travel a little further and search from the skies."

" _I'd like to just leave this place. It gives me goosebumps."_

"We can't go yet. We've got to find Eric and Laurel before-" I was cut off as an unearthly roar shook the air. "You...heard that, right?"

" _Hard not to in this place."_ Ruby has his head low, teeth fully unsheathed. A bit of light from his jaws indicated he was preparing to fire a plasma blast if need be.

"I've never heard a dragon sounding like that. Think it's a Red Death or Bewilderbeast?"

" _No, something else...and something not too friendly, I'm assuming. Let's get out of here!"_

"I told you, we can't leave until—"

" _You want to find the source of the roar, or live to find our teammates?!"_ He hit me with his tail, throwing me off balance and landing on the saddle.

"Oof! Ruby, what the hell?!"

" _We can do this easy and simple, or I can take that fake leg of yours off and fly you out of here kicking 'n' screaming!"_

"Fine! Just let me get in the damned saddle." I pushed myself up, climbing onto the saddle. The second I got myself strapped in, the biggest dragon we've ever seen came out of the fog bank. Its body was long and slender like a snake's but with limbs with claws at the end. The wings had no membrane, much like a dragon's skeletal structure. The scales seemed to be a glowing deep red color with gold marks on the face, some in the shape of eyes. "Holy shit..."

" _Time to go!"_ Ruby spread his wings, doing the signature takeoff of Night Furies. I yelped, feeling myself being slightly thrown front and back from it.

"Ruby! A little warning?!"

" _I ain't taking the risk that it wants to eat us! Which, it looks like it kinda does!"_

I looked behind me, my eyes bugging out when I saw it on our tails. "Okay, Plan P time. Plan _Panic!_ "

Ruby split the spines running down his back to give us an edge in flight. However, even despite that and me situating myself to help increase our speed, we couldn't shake this dragon from our flight path. For a dragon with no wing membranes, it sure could fly fast! "Can you go any faster?!"

" _Shut up and let me fly!"_

"Well you're not— _look out!_ "

My warning came warning came too late as a red sphere collided right into us. Ruby was stunned for a minute before I felt us both falling. The world around seemed to fade out as my vision faded.

(Scene Shift- ?)

" _-en...Ren...Ren! Come on, man, wake up!"_ Ruby's voice roared. I felt claws digging into my flight suit as I was shaken.

"Ruby, be a bit more gentle. I'm not as sturdy as I look!" I said, grabbing his claws to pull them off.

" _Oh, thank the gods, you're alive. I didn't want to have to try and perform CPR on ya!"_

"I'd...rather you not." I stood up, dusting myself off as I glimpsed around. "Where are we?"

" _Wherever we are, it's not anywhere we've been. I've tried scoping the area the best I could. It looks like a city that got hit by the mother of all natural disasters and gone with no repair."_

"There's got to be people still here, though. Look." I pointed in the distance further in, seeing smoke. "Maybe we can reach it and ask the someone where we are."

" _I dunno how much I feel like flying. I think I sprained my wing."_

He lifted up the wing that must be hurting. I went over, feeling the wing. "Nothing broken, but I'm hazarding a guess from that wince it doesn't feel 100%."

" _Yeah, no shit."_

"Okay, we'll go on foot. Just be careful where you put your paws down, dude. It looks like there's shrapnel practically everywhere."

" _Got it."_

I checked to make sure all the bags were still intact. Afterwards, we started walking forward, our destination clear. While I still held onto the theory that there had to be people here, the streets were certainly deserted. I felt like I was in a horror movie. And knowing my luck, I'd be the first one to get chomped on or sliced up. I was getting a bit nervous, reaching to the saddle and unhooking my sword to attach to my belt. You know, just in case. I wasn't nervous in the least bit. Nope, not me!

"Okay, this is unnerving," I mumbled.

" _Yeah, no kidding. What was that about people living here?"_

"Hush up, you. Let's just keep walking."

(Ruby's POV)

I rolled my red eyes. _Why oh why did my rider have to be the most stubborn guy in the known universe? I'll eat an eel if I ever meet someone just as stubborn. Wait, shit, no, maybe just a bad piece of fish?_ I thought, shaking my head. At least Ren could only understand what I said, not what I thought. If he did...gods help me.

My ears shot up at voices. Ren hadn't heard them ('cause, you know, human hearing just plain _sucks_ compared to dragons), nor did he see me slinking off to check it out.

(Ren's POV)

I stopped, squinting at something ahead. "Hey, Ruby! I think we're in luck! I see some light!" I turned to said Night Fury only to find nothing beside me. "Uh...Ruby? Ruby? Where are you, boy?!"

 _Okay okay, no need to panic. He probably just got curious at something and went to investigate. He got a bit too curi-_ My thoughts were cut off as I heard his roar. Uh-oh. "Ruby! Damn it all."

I raced for the source, praying to any celestial being that would hear me to let him be okay and not in danger. _I can't lose him. I can't! He's one of the only things keeping me from going crazy from the nightmares._ " _Ruby!_ "

The sounds of something running caught my attention. I skidded to a halt, grabbing the hilt of my sword just in case. A small group of guys ran past me, yelling, "It's real! A real dragon!" _The hell? What was_ that _about? Wait, forget them. I've got to find Ruby!_

(Yusei's POV)

"Rally, what is that?"

"I don't know, but it chased off those goons."

"Rrrowl?"

Now this was confusing. If it chased off the thugs, why is it acting so docile now? And another thing, what's with the saddle and bags? _This must be someone's...uh, dragon, I guess. So where's the owner?_ "Ruby! Ruby, where are you?!" a voice called. _That answers one question._

"Ru-ack!" A guy around my age fell out from an alleyway, landing on his face. Hard. The dragon lost interest in us and went to him, sniffing at his head. "Oww...wait...Ruby!"

"Rowl!"

"Oh, thank God! You're okay!" He sat up, hugging the dragon's neck. Then his expression went from happy to angry in a second. He grabbed the dragon by its nostrils, shaking its head. "How many times do I have to tell you not to run off like that?! You know you almost gave me the biggest heart attack of the century!"

The dragon managed to shake his hold off, rubbing its nose with a paw. It let out a roar in his face. "Don't you raise your voice at me, young Night Fury! I thought you would have been raised better the last seven or eight years?!" The dragon let out a louder roar. "What are you-" It placed a paw on his head, forcing him to turn to see us. He blinked. "They were there the whole time, weren't they?"

"Rawl."

"And they have no idea what's going on, right?"

"Rrr."

"And you made me look like a crazy guy since they can't understand what you're saying."

"Rr...rawl."

"...I hate you _so much_ right now..."

(Scene Shift- Normal POV- With AJ and Jazz)

"I don't think it's going to work, AJ," Jazz said, looking at the ash-brown haired girl.

"Well, at the moment, it's the best thing we've got. I mean, even if he's mad at him, Ren's not going to live with himself if something bad happened to Eric and Laurel," AJ replied.

"Yeah, but maybe we should call Ace and tell him what happened, too. Just in case any of the strange dragons turn hostile."

"Ren's still got him on speed dial, so if anything does come up he'll be calling him fairly quick."

"Mm..."

"Okay, what's wrong? I know you're not usually this worried over nothing."

"Well, I dunno. There's been something in the air, I think. Like some big event is about to hit. Even Nilima senses it."

"A big event, huh? Like what?"

"It's a bit hard to explain. I guess since things have been kind of screwy lately that I've been on edge, but I can tell that this isn't just nerves."

"Has there been anything to confirm that something's not right?"

"Not exactly."

"It's probably just nerves, then. We've had a rough few years, but things are turning up. I mean, what's the worst that could happen?

 **A/N: And on that note, I'll be ending the prologue here. What, thought I'd leave it on a slightly uplifting note like last time? Sorry.**

 **Anyway, the rewrite has a _lot_ of changes, especially with Ren's past as you've noticed (in the previous prologue, it mentions he fought a Red Death, but I took that out as it's too much like the movie storyline for _How to Train Your Dragon_ and I thought of something a bit more fitting). I'll also warn that things will be slightly turning AU around the time of the Dark Signers (not by much, for the most part) and possibly other arcs in the future. I think once I get done with the rewrite and post the second chapter, I might open up for some suggestions. I know I'll be opening up suggestions for designs on the weapons Ren and his friends use because I have yet to draw swords with on dA, so...chances are they're not going to look too pleasant. ^^'**

 **Well, anyway, hope you guys enjoyed and be ready for the rewritten chapter one!**


	2. Chapter 1: Time to Act

**A/N: Just posting the rewrite for the first chapter. Not much else to say XD**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own _How to Train Your Dragon_ nor _Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's_. Both go to their respective owners. I only claim my OCs.**

 **Chapter 1- Time to Act:**

(Ren's POV)

"When I find the wise guy to order us to be captured, they're getting _this_ shoved up in the place where the sun don't shine!" I growled, pulling out my sword for emphasis.

" _Someone's on their time of the month,"_ Ruby mused, walking beside me.

"Oh, shut up."

" _Sorry, I don't have the ability to."_

"...you stole my line..."

" _You got it out of a movie. Or comic. Or whatever you were looking through for cool quotes."_

I rolled my eyes. Things have taken a rather...interesting turn the last several months. When Ruby and I first got here, we had no clue that we had pretty much landed in a new world all together. One without the usual dragons we're used to. Instead, all the dragons—and other monsters to put it lightly—are all cards and holograms. Which explained some initial freak-outs. Thankfully, we managed to meet some people that didn't want to turn us into the authorities of this place.

Ruby unintentionally (or intentionally; hard to tell what that Night Fury thinks half the time) helped two Satellite residents Yusei and Rally when the latter was being chased. Although, I did not appreciate the fact that Ruby slunk off while I was trying to find some way of knowing where we were. We (or rather, I) told that we were lost and had no clue how we ended up there, and they agreed to help. Of course, when the rest of their pals showed up, we had to explain again, but at least Ruby and I had a place to stay for a bit.

There was more than just the lack of dragon situation that we learned as well. The people of Satellite were treated horribly by the authorities (Sector Security) and were even barred from ever entering the limits of the city across the sea. They even get punished for the smallest offense, sent to a place called the Facility and often marked with tracking dye. Needless to say, Ruby literally had to remove my fake leg to stop me from storming up and giving one of those Security officers a piece of my mind.

Fast forward most of the months I've been here, Yusei managed to slip out to look for an old friend who betrayed him a few years ago and took not only his first Duel Runner (yes, they told me what those were, too) but also his Stardust Dragon card as well. Since then, Ruby and I have tried to keep a low profile and not get caught. Easier said than done as it seems like every time we head out to even get Ruby something to eat we get chased. If he was anything but a Night Fury, we would have been sunk.

"In any case, I just want to relax at least for a few hours. The prosthetic is killing me," I groaned.

" _I doubt a prosthetic is gonna kill you, but I know whatcha mean. Especially since_ I'm _the one flying about."_

"Well, if my flight suit could do more than glide, I think I'd be giving you a long break. Or maybe find some way to fly on my own."

" _Yeah, sure. You'd probably soil yourself by the time you get high enough off the ground."_

"I would not!"

" _Need I remind you who was screaming bloody murder when I first took off with you on my back."_

"I was thirteen! I hadn't even tackled my fear of heights, Ruby!"

" _Excuses."_

"Should I remind you of a dragon's fear of eels?"

" _Hey! Most of us have a legitimate excuse to be afraid of eels!"_

"What about your fear of storms?"

Ruby tried to retort, stopped, and pouted. _"I hate it when you win an argument."_

"Not that hard with you. Anyone else...I might as well try landing a bulls-eye twice in a row in the archery range."

" _I wouldn't say that impossible, buuuut..."_

"Yeah yeah." We headed into an abandon building near the subway tunnels. Ruby and I moved in there when it became apparent my nightmares were coming back with a vengeance. Plus, there was a bit of an incident that caused quite a mess involving Ruby, but I won't get into too much detail. Especially since I'm still trying to clean it up. Two words: scales _everywhere_.

" _Sooo, what should I do if someone comes in to check on ya while you're in dreamland?"_

"I dunno. Hold a claw to your mouth in a 'shush' motion? Or try to snore the loudest you can get."

" _I do_ not _snore."_

"Dude, you snore louder than a congested bear. I'm just glad I got so used to it over the years."

He didn't reply, except to stick his tongue out at me. I climbed up the stairs once tossing off my bags and shutting the door behind us. Ruby stayed on the ground floor of the building, mostly as a precaution in case there was a break in, but also due to the fact of the _incident_. Besides, what sane person is going to try to rob the place with a dragon guarding the first floor? Not unless they knew what kind of dragons I dealt with, or are just plain out of their minds. Whichever works.

I hopped onto the makeshift bed I made, taking off my prosthetic. I made sure not to completely disassemble it to prevent multiple repeats of me hobbling on one leg trying to hunt for it. _It's been almost, what, a year since I got here and still no clue as to how or why. Nor what that giant crimson-colored dragon was about. Maybe that's how Ruby and I ended up here? No, there's no way. A dragon can't have_ that _much power...can it? I'm over thinking this. I've gotta get some sleep, at least._ Rolling onto my side, I closed my eyes in the hopes of getting a decent rest.

Turns out, I must have really angered something in a past life as I kept tossing and turning, having scenes of fire and strange dragons fighting large beings with glowing markings. While some of the dragons matched the descriptions other riders gave of the undocumented dragons found in the place Ruby and I were investigating, I couldn't recognize the others. But for some reason, four of them felt familiar almost. Especially the one with four wings and eyes like flames.

" _Ren! Wake the hell up! We're being surrounded!"_ Ruby's roar pierced the dream, jolting me awake.

I jumped into a sitting position, gasping for air. I don't know what shook me the most. The dream, or Ruby's shout of being surrounded. I managed to pull out of it in time to grab my prosthetic leg and strap it on, racing down the stairs. "What do you mean we're-"

" _I went outside to investigate noises I was hearing only to find these guys in suits taking Rally, Blitz, Nervin, and Tank."_

"What?!"

" _Yeah, but then they spotted me before I could go back in the shadows. I heard shouts to run right when I came back in and shoved that shelf in front of the door."_

"We've gotta help them!"

" _Ren, as much as I want to agree with you, what are you and I going to do against a squad of guys with_ guns _? I may have literal firepower on my side, but I can't fight and make sure you're safe at the same time!"_

"Well, we've got to try!"

Ruby growled. _"By the gods, I must be insane. Fine, but if we get captured or killed because of this, I am_ so _not letting you live this one down!"_

"Trust me, I'll feel a lot better when I know I did what I could to help friends in need."

The shouting outside turned from orders to break the door down to... "There's another one!"

"What?" _"What?"_ both Ruby and I said. Another one? Another dragon rider?!

"Ruby, blow the shelf and door apart!"

" _Here goes!"_ He fired a plasma blast at the entrance. I grabbed the bags, not having too much time to secure them all on in time, and jumped into the saddle. He jumped through the smoke and skidded to a halt.

Up above the large group was a Monstrous Nightmare on fire (no need to be alarmed, that's what they're known to do) and flying right above their heads. The dragon and rider were staying high enough to where I couldn't make out enough detail as to who they were. And unfortunately, Monstrous Nightmare riders were a dime a dozen, so I couldn't exactly just single out a name to go with that specific dragon. Unless I saw the looks of both rider and dragon.

" _What in the world...?"_

"Never mind that, Ruby. Where are the others?!"

Ruby jerked his head back and forth among the mass. _"Crap, I don't see 'em!"_

"Damn it! Where did they take them?!"

" _We've got bigger problems right now!"_

The suits turned to us when Ruby said that, training what I guessed where stun guns on us. _Shit shit shit. What do we do now? Even if I get Ruby to take off, they can still gun us down. I can't believe I'm thinking this, but we might have-_ My thoughts were cut off from a roar above us.

" _Ren, Ruby! Head into the skies!"_ the dragon roared as they zipped down low at the suits, causing them to duck.

 _That voice..._ "Laurel? Eric?!"

Ruby didn't need to be told twice. Before they could react, we were already in the sky. We kept climbing higher and higher until the clouds covered us. I looked behind and a bit down. I wanted to go back and demand where they took the guys, but at the same time it defeats the purpose if we get captured as well. I growled, turning back in my saddle and punching it. "When I find out who sent you guys, there'll be hell to pay!"

(Scene Shift)

Laurel and Eric led us to an empty building a bit into the city. There was a lot going through my mind about this. Don't get me wrong, I was relieved to find the two okay. My problem—besides the fact I was still holding a grudge against him for the fight we had—was even though I have found him, it was a bit redundant as we were both in a different world and unable to contact AJ or Jazz. And I had to hope Ruby and Laurel could keep us both calm enough to talk properly enough. Well this was gonna be fun.

"We should have found where they took them," I muttered.

"Yes, because getting captured would have been the best idea," Eric replied.

"Ruby and I could have gotten us out!"

"How? Last I checked, a sword isn't much of a match against guns."

"Well...we could have found some way out of it!"

"That's your problem, Ren. You think on your feet and don't make plans ahead of time for certain worst-case scenarios. That can only get you so far."

"Do you have anything better to do than criticize my techniques? It's gotten us out of jams before."

Eric was about to retort when Laurel nudged him. He sighed. "Look, I didn't bring you here to argue again. I'm going to guess you got to this world the same way we did, right?"

"You mean being chased by a giant dragon, swallowed in a red sphere, and woke up in a world with no dragons? If that's what happened, then yes."

"That answers that, I suppose. From what I could understand, that dragon is called the Crimson Dragon. It seems to have brought the two of us here for some reason."

"And the reason is...?"

"If I knew that, I would have told you already."

"I...fair point. Okay, so, how do we get home then? There's got to be a way back, right?"

"Don't know."

"That's lovely. AJ and Jazz are probably losing their minds with worry."

"I wouldn't deny that. At any rate, you're definitely going to have to lay low and perhaps not go back right now."

"What? Why?"

"For one thing, considering that little display back there, we've going to have to not be spotted easily in the sky."

"So how in the hell have you and Laurel kept from being spotted if you were here as long as I? Especially with being in the city?"

" _Simple. We've flown high enough that it's a bit hard to tell what we are,"_ Laurel replied.

" _Then where have you guys been hiding?"_ Ruby asked.

"We were taken in by the Arcadia Movement. Laurel mostly hangs out on the roof. Kind of hard to keep a Monstrous Nightmare inside a building."

"The what movement?"

"Arcadia Movement. They take in psychic duelists and give them a place to belong because of how other people react to their powers."

"Good grief, why are people afraid of stuff they don't understand?"

"Considering this comes from the same guy who befriended a dragon said to be too dangerous to tame at age ten?"

"Well, what else was I supposed to do? Leave Ruby out to bleed to death? I'm not exactly going to leave someone who needs help."

"Fair point. At any rate, you'll have to stay put here and try to keep from going out until nightfall. As long as Ruby flies high enough, no one is going to be able to spot him. Unless they spot him from a helicopter."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to have to head back. I only said I was going to let Laurel get some exercise, so if I'm not back by night, they're going to wonder where I went or what happened."

"Not even going to bring me there?"

"I'd rather you not. I've got a bit of a bad gut feeling about the leader, and I don't want you to get caught up in anything."

"Too late for that."

"Anything else, then. I don't want them testing you for powers. I barely managed to get through it without too much injury."

"How do they test?" He gave me a look. "Fine fine, I won't ask. But I thought you only could sense a dragon's thoughts?"

"Apparently, that wasn't all. Before I could get hit with a stronger blast, fire appeared out of nowhere to block the hit. And no, Laurel wasn't there, so it wasn't hers."

"You can create fire? Dude, not fair."

"Ren, be serious. I think that's why we might be here. We might have abilities that could only be activated here and not in our world."

"Last time I checked, I'm more of the science first guy."

"And I'm not?"

"Good point."

"It's hard for me to explain, but I feel like that's the only reason we're brought here. It could be to aid in an upcoming battle."

"Well, if it involves swords and strength, I'm all in. Right, Ruby?"

" _Right!"_

"Let's hope that." Eric looked at one of the broken windows. "I'll stay here until nightfall. Shouldn't be too long."

"Fine. I'll just double make sure I have all my stuff." Ruby lowered his body to let me unload the bags from the saddle. I opened each one to make sure each item was still there. "Check, check, che—oh, shit."

"What? What is it?"

"I think I forgot the bag with my notebooks."

"What?!"

"It's either I didn't grab them from my little base, or they fell off 'cause I didn't tie it on well enough."

Eric slapped his hand on his face. "Oh my God, Ren..."

"Hey! I was panicking! Don't act like you haven't done it once in a while!"

"Yes, but if those notebooks are what I think they are-"

"The more important parts are still impossible to decode."

His hand slid down. "What?"

"Remember? AJ and I created our own little language in our notes which only we can decode. No one's going to be able to know what it says. It'll seem like gibberish."

"Well, that somewhat makes me feel better. You didn't think to put your findings in the same, did you?"

"Uhh..."

"That figures."

(Scene Shift- Elsewhere- Normal POV)

"AJ, this is a bad idea," Jazz said as the two landed their dragons. The dragon Jazz had looked to be covered in silver armor and spikes covering the wings and tail, a deadly dragon known as a Razorwhip. "I mean, on the same level as some of Ren's reckless decisions."

"It's been months, Jazz. There's got to be some chance they're still alive," AJ retorted. Her dragon was covered in an armor of bones, a dragon known as the Boneknapper.

"I know what you mean, but heading here where they both disappeared is the craziest thing we could do."

" _I agree with Jazz, Alyssa. Something about this place gives me goosebumps,"_ the Boneknapper said.

"We won't be here long, Shiloh. Just long enough to find at least one clue."

"I just hope the clue won't be burning us to a crisp." Jazz reached to a small pack on her belt, pulling out a small monocular to scout around them. When she turned to look up, she got nervous. "Uhh...AJ? Take a look at this."

AJ walked over, taking the monocular from Jazz. "I've never seen that dragon before..."

"Okay, I think it's time we go. Preferably before it finds us. It does not look friendly in the least."

"Hold on a minute. We might be able to use the same tactics as the dragons we're used to."

"AJ, are you hearing yourself?"

"Yes, I am, but from the reports we read, they've only chased other people. Maybe they weren't in a hostile manner. Rather, just scouting them out."

"You expect me to believe that theory?"

"They never tried breathing fire on any other rider, have they?"

Jazz tried to retort only to realize. "Oh..."

"Exactly. Usually, they'll send out warning shots to show not to come back unless they want to be on the other end of the fire or claws. There's got to be a reason why they want to stay in this area. Why stay when even any prey stay as far away as possible."

"You're going to try to call it down, aren't you?"

"Well, either that or go up to it." She turned back up to the sky, starting to shout and wave her arms. "Hey! Hey, down here! We're in your turf, yeah?"

"I think Ren's rubbed on you a little too much."

"You want to go with the other option?"

"..continue..."

" _AJ! The dragon!"_

"Oh shit, it's coming! Nilima, prepare for a fight!" Jazz started running to the Razorwhip.

AJ brought the monocular back up, her eye widening when she saw the dragon that had been circling above them literally vanish right in front of her. "Jazz, it's gone!"

"Gone, what are you talking about?" She had one leg on the saddle ready to jump over it. She lost her grip and balance, landing with an 'oof' on the ground.

"I mean, it's gone. Disappeared right before my eyes."

"How? Even a dragon that large, we'd be able to see some part of it."

"If it was flying off. It just...vanished. Like that." She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

Jazz started getting nervous. "Okay, I'm officially freaked. Let's get out of here."

 _What happened? How can something be there and the next instant not? None of this makes sense,_ AJ thought, heading over to Shiloh who had lowered his head and neck to let her get onto the saddle. Right as they were gearing up for takeoff, they heard a roar.

(Scene Shift- Back with Ren and Ruby- Ren's POV)

Night hit and Eric left. Ruby and I decided not to head out just yet, mostly because we were a bit exhausted from the excitement hours earlier. Plus, we needed as much energy we could store to look for Yusei and tell him what happened. I was honestly nervous about that. Mainly because I still felt guilty about it all happening.

"We've got a lot on our plate, now," I sighed, leaning my head against Ruby's side.

" _Yeah, no kidding. Getting pulled into this world by a giant magic dragon? Who would have thought,"_ Ruby replied.

"Yeah, to possibly fight in some battle. Maybe we can get some answers, then."

" _Mm-hmm. Wait, to what?"_

"For one, the markings under your eyes. And also-" I pulled my sleeve back, showing (or barely) a white flame marking. "-to this."

" _Magic tattoos...what's next?"_

"I don't think we should push our luck, Rube. Seems like whatever beings govern the universe like messing with us whenever we say stuff like that."

" _Good point. Well, goodnight."_

I released my arm, my eyes trailing down to the stump of a leg (since I took off my prosthetic so I could sleep a bit more comfortably). _Don't look too much into, Ren. Some things are just out of your control,_ Eric's voice echoed from earlier. "'Night."

 **A/N: Yeeeesss, I've got the rewrite done before the end of the year! Now to get to work on chapter 2 XD**

 **Also, fun fact about a previous prompt that I had in my head for this story. I was going to have a bit of joke of Ruby always finding this can to chew on (kind of like a dog) whenever they got back to the Satellite. Kind of as a joke of, "Where did you get that?" thing. It's not going to be in this, though...unless someone wants me to put it in? XD Maybe just in one scene. Who knows.**


	3. Oneshot: No One Asked

**A/N: Okay, so, not exactly the next chapter for Dragons' Souls just yet...but I thought I'd give a bit of vital information toward some of the plot of Ren's backstory. Now this doesn't give fully what happened (that'll happen a bit later but in a shortened, less graphic way...I hope). However, I felt it was a bit needed in a sense to shed light on why Ren's hesitant on revealing everything to his new friends (and give a bit of insight of what I'll be doing with AJ slightly in the sequel). If you'd rather, I can take the oneshot off the main story and put together a compilation of oneshots as a separate story. But that's only if this annoys people too much ^^'**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own _How to Train Your Dragons_ nor _Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's_. Both go to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.**

 **Dragons' Souls Oneshot- No One Asked:**

(AJ's POV)

I sat further off to the side from Eric and Jazz, wringing my hands together and waiting for what the doctors said about Ren's condition. Eric and Jazz were still talking about what happened, knowing that the hunters would all be jailed for life at almost taking Ren's life. Or, at least, the ones that were still _alive_. If Ren hadn't managed to regain consciousness...hadn't managed to come back to us...I'm sure Ruby would have torn all those hunters to pieces.

It felt more like a nightmare than reality. Earlier this week, Ren was going on about adding some special dyes to the Monstrous Nightmare gel in our swords to give the flames a bit of color when they were lit up. Now he was in a hospital with us dreading to hear that all our work at getting him here fast enough was for nothing. That he wasn't ever going to recover or worse...didn't make it.

"Well, there's no doubt Mr. Mori is going to make sure those hunters stay behind bars until they rot. Right, AJ?" Jazz's voice called.

I blinked. "Huh? What?"

"Are you okay, AJ? You're being a bit distant," Eric pointed out, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"I...I'm fine. I, uh, need to use the restroom." I got up quickly and headed down the hallway.

Once in the restroom, I ran the water in the sink and splashed it onto my face. _Stay calm, stay calm...don't break down. It's going to be okay. This is Ren we're talking about. He always overcomes the odds somehow,_ I chanted in my head. If I was to be the leader in Ren's place this soon...how in the hell am I supposed to be able to handle all of this?!

If only we had gotten there sooner...if only we had realized the kind of hunters we were dealing with...if only we didn't waste time coming up with a plan...we could have gotten to him sooner. We could have spared him whatever torture those damned hunters put him through. We...I could have been spared feeling his life slowly ebb away in my arms...

I gripped the sink a bit harder just to keep from lashing out and punching the mirror. For a moment, I thought Ren had died. That's what caused Ruby to rampage. He kept muttering, _"Not again,"_ like he's already went through with losing a human he cares about.

I don't remember Ren mentioning that about Ruby...or maybe Ruby never told him? Then again, I doubt Ren would have pressured Ruby into saying. He's not one to judge a person based on their past.

As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, Jazz called, "AJ! You might want to get over here!" I hurried back, my heart rate picking up once more. Her tone sounded urgent. I just hope it wasn't the news I had been fearing.

"What is it? What's wrong?" I asked once I caught up.

"You're going to have to talk with the doctor. He says it's something urgent and won't tell us 'cause we're not family."

I bit my lip. "Okay, I'll go talk to 'im." I went through the door.

From what the doctors told me, he'd be bedridden for several weeks at best. The injuries were severe and some were close to infection. If we had been any later, it would have been too late. While that definitely had me shook up, what was said next almost sent me into another attack. Ren's right leg had to be amputated. It had been broken so often and badly that it wouldn't heal properly even if they didn't. He'd need a prosthetic if he wanted to walk again.

During the next couple of days, he was in and out of consciousness. He'd wake up for a few minutes to fall back asleep right after. I stayed with him until he could be moved out of ICU and into a room which would allow Ruby to enter. That would still be a while, so I had to keep Ruby at my outpost with Shiloh.

When he could stay awake longer, he and I began plans to forge a prosthetic of his own. He couldn't really draw the plans out, however, so he had to describe what he wanted to me and I drew it out until we got a rough plan for it. It took me a few days to get the supplies but soon we had a prototype to try out when he was slated for physical therapy.

The first steps were of course shaky for Ren. I didn't have to worry about him falling, though. Ruby always caught him. The Night Fury seemed to have become even closer to Ren since the rescue, never leaving his side for very long. Even when Ren was discharged from the hospital, there wasn't a time when the two were far from each other. Whatever had happened to Ruby in the past had definitely caused a relapse in him. Even people who couldn't understand dragons like us could feel the aura of protectiveness around him.

Since coming out of the hospital, I felt a change in my brother. Ren was always peppier and laid back than a lot of group leaders, usually to the point that others got confused as to why he was the leader (though, once they started seeing his more serious side, they shut up about it). After that whole incident...he got solemn, even worse than when he had defected from that Strike Class rider gang a while back. Plus, he would either tense or wince whenever someone touched him outside his field of vision. I feared that the scars ran deeper than just on the surface. Dragon hunters were especially cruel to those who can understand dragons. It made me wonder if maybe it would have been better to have let Ruby tear through the remaining few.

The few months prior to the strange sightings of unknown dragons, Ren had pushed us away more and more. At times he would snap at us, mostly me as I was the one who stayed around him the most at his place. I knew he was only lashing out because he was bad at talking about what was wrong with him. So, I pushed down my own hurt to allow his venting. However, not all of us were able to put up with it.

On one of the days I went to check up on him, I saw Eric and Laurel flying off on the opposite side of the island. Judging from how fast Laurel flew, Eric was definitely not in a good mood. Another hint that there was a fight was the fact that Ren was already starting to work on his sword. Albeit more of hammering into it hard enough I was afraid it would break at the force. I asked what was wrong, and he only replied with a harsh, "I'm fine!" I still don't know what the fight involved, nor what was said, but it was bad enough that the two avoided each other.

Then the disappearance happened. Jazz and Eric were supposed to meet up for a bit of flight practice, but he had never showed. Jazz had tried calling him only to find that it wouldn't go through. She came to me, quite frantic, and we called Ren to try to check where he might have gone through. An area where strange and undocumented dragons kept appearing in and out of thin air, getting to a point the councils were close to shutting the area off to everyone. Ren agreed to go check it out. That had been the last we heard of him.

I don't know what happened to him and Ruby. Many were thinking that perhaps some dragon hunters decided to stage a trap there, but there were no signs of traps or anything. Whatever happened to them along with Eric and Laurel, one thing is sure. I'm not giving up on finding them, even if it kills me.

 **A/N: Well then. I promise, I am working on re-writing the first two parts of the story. It's just taking a little while. I have a good idea of where it's heading (partly into a bit of AU territory but not too much like Speaker of Dragons). Like I said, if anyone would prefer I put this in a separate piece for oneshots, please let me know! It won't hurt my feelings.**

 **(I'm hoping to get the rewrites done before any new seasons come out on Netflix. I'm looking at you _Voltron: Legendary Defender_.)**


	4. Chapter 2: Finding and Searching

**A/N: This is what we call having to scrap the original next chapter and rewrite it as your story has changed quite a bit, so have a two-part chapter for the wait! XD No worries, I feel better about this version anyway. I hope it'll be an enjoyable read to you all!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own _How to Train Your Dragon_ nor _Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's_. Both go to their respective owners. I only claim my OC(s).**

 **EDIT: Decided to change the name of the first half of the chapter. Nothing much else has changed in the story, though.**

 **Chapter 2- Finding and Searching:**

(Yusei's POV)

I looked back, making sure I hadn't been followed, and sighed in relief. _Good, looks like they didn't see me,_ I thought. _But that mark...it looked like the same one from the vision. And what happened to the Dark Tuner and Synchro after the duel? I guess there's only one way to find out._ I noticed something on the ground. I bent down and picked it up.

"This looks like..."

(Flashback)

"Hey, Ren? Could you and Ruby-"

" _Duck!_ " I heard Ren yell. I closed the door to hear what sounded like a bunch of pellets hitting it. When they stopped, I opened the door to see Ruby rubbing his head along the ground like he had an itch he couldn't reach. "Dammit, Ruby! I thought you quit shedding weeks ago!" Ren threw down an old umbrella.

"What...was that?"

"Ruby's shedding his scales again...which makes no sense 'cause it only happens once a year and he finished before we even got here!"

"Rowrl," Ruby groaned.

"Ruby, I have pretty much scratched my fingers bloody trying to get rid of those scales for you."

"Is there an easier and _safer_ way to help with his shedding?"

"Yeah, but the only tools I have to do that are back at my base which is...not here." Ren blocked a barrage of scales with his arm. "Geez, warn me, will ya?" Ruby snorted, glaring.

"Seems like you have your hands full."

"No kidding...just hope those Security goons don't track us here with Ruby's fallen scales."

(Present)

"...one of Ruby's scales." _If this is what I think it is...then Ren wasn't captured after all! I better find them before something else goes wrong._ Thankfully, that wasn't the only scale. I didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned that Ren hadn't checked to see if Ruby was shedding again.

The trail ended at an old warehouse. I pushed the door open, looking around. My eyes landed on two figures on the ground. One human and the other, of course, was dragon. Ren was laying on his back, passed out asleep, with Ruby laying his head right on top of his stomach. When I noticed that Ren wasn't wearing his prosthetic leg, I glanced around to see that it had been knocked into a far off corner. _Someone's not going to be too happy when he wakes up._

As I walked over, Ruby lifted his head up. "Rooo?" he rumbled.

"Hey, Ruby," I greeted.

"Rowl!"

"Ugh...Ruby...not now," Ren groaned from the ground. His arm covered his eyes. "I'm trying to sleep."

Ruby looked down at Ren, getting his version of a smirk on his face. He leaned down, opened his jaws...and burped. That got an instant reaction out of Ren who shoved the dragon off, gagging. "Oh my God! What the hell was that for, Ruby?!" Ruby let out a laugh. "Yeah, you would find that funny."

"Hey, Ren."

"Oh hey, Yusei." He froze when it started to click in his head. _Surprised he didn't notice I was next to him when he woke up._ "Yusei?!" He tried getting up but ended up falling. I caught him before he hit the ground. "Okay...where'd my leg go?!"

"If you mean your actual leg, I have no idea. Your prosthetic is over there." I nodded to where it laid.

"Son of a-! Ruby! That's not funny, man!"

"Rooo."

"Yeah, ha ha. I like to see _you_ try walking with one leg! Or fly with one wing fin!"

"Rowl!"

The mostly one-sided conversations between Ren and Ruby were concerning at first, but it got amusing when it became easy to tell what Ruby "said." It's also easy to tell their emotions since both are rather expressive. There hasn't been a lot of times that Ruby's shown to be aggressive. He seems to save it until Ren's truly being threatened.

I set Ren down in a sitting position. "I'll get it." I stood up and went to retrieve his leg.

(Ren's POV)

" _You're gonna have to tell him, ya know,"_ Ruby whispered.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Sherlock," I mumbled back. "And how exactly am I supposed to put it? Anything I come up with sounds bad."

" _I'm pretty sure he'll understand. I mean, he's come to being able to guess what you're trying to mean even when you ramble."_

"Yeah, but what if-"

" _For crying out loud, how many times do I have to say it to make it clear to you. It was. Not. Your. Fault! I even told you I heard them shout at us to run 'cause who knows what could've happened if they got a hold of us. We're just lucky it was only your notes that they got and not the source of 'em."_

"But-"

" _I am this close to smacking you upside the head and leaving Yusei to question what made me do that."_

I sighed. "I just...I don't think I can stand to lose someone else's trust..."

" _Ren, you know that you were stressed out and so was Eric—possibly for different reasons—but you both did say hurtful things to each other."_

"Mm..."

"Here we are," Yusei said, coming up with my prosthetic. He bent down to help me put it on. Over the past months I've been here, I've started kind of chilling out about getting help. I guess the fight with Eric and the fact that I was nowhere near my home made me realize just how important having close ties with others were. Plus, with how bad my nightmares got some sessions, I got a little too out of it to even know how to get everything strapped on well enough. It cause some rather painful and embarrassing moments I'd rather not repeat anytime soon. Or ever again, rather.

"Thanks. Um, Yusei...promise you won't get mad with what I'm about to tell you?"

"Okay..?"

"I, uh...I'm sorry!" I clapped my hands together, eyes shut. "I know I promised to make sure everyone stayed safe and make sure nothing happens, but it got out of-" I stopped when I felt a hand on my head. I opened my eyes. "Huh?"

"Ren, it's okay. They're safe."

"Wait, what? How? Ruby said-"

"It's a long story, but they're okay now. I'll tell you about it while we get back to Blister's."

I tilted my head in confusion. "Whose place?"

"Yeah, a lot's happened since I left."

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock."

(Scene Shift- Yusei's POV)

As we walked back, I told Ren about all that had happened. From the first duel I had against Jack when getting to the city up until the duel against that Shadow Drone. Ren kept quiet throughout it (which surprised me especially with the parts I knew he would blow up about), and Ruby occasionally let out a warble at parts. After the info dump, I kept silent to see how he would respond.

"So, let me get this straight. Goodwin made this Fortune Cup tournament to draw out certain people known as Signers which you're a part of," he stated.

"Yep," I replied.

"And somehow, with only knowing the identity of four of you guys, you were still able to summon the Crimson Dragon?"

"Yes."

"And now you guys have to stop not only the destruction of the Satellite but also the entire world."

"That pretty much sums it up."

"So...why in the hell did the Crimson Dragon not only bring me and Ruby-" He gestured to himself and said dragon. "-but also Eric and Laurel here if it's the Signers job to save the world?!"

"That I don't know. Also, this is the first time I've heard you say you ran into Eric and Laurel."

"Oh...uh, yeah. They kind of-"

"Saved you from getting captured."

"What? How the hell did you know that?!"

"Let's just say that I might have had a run in with Eric, and he made a mention about you. Though, he forgot to mention where you were."

"That sounds like him. He tends to like keeping certain details out of a conversation until the very last minute, and not because he forgot it either."

"Well, to be fair, anyone working for Goodwin would have overheard us and told him your whereabouts."

"Ohh, yeah, there's that."

"Well, better than what I was fearing."

"Which was...?"

"You locked up in some unknown jail cell and Ruby being kept in a lab."

Ruby let out a distressed roar, causing Ren to place a hand on his snout. "Shush, Ruby! What if someone hears?!"

We paused, waiting for someone to poke their head out and see the three of us. "Looks like no one heard, but we better pick up the pace just in case."

"No arguments here."

(Scene Shift- Ren's POV)

We made it back to the hideout without much trouble. I was relieved at not running into anyone as how do you explain the dragon beside you? Especially in a world where the monsters are just cards or holograms? Yeah, good luck with that! And good luck explaining to someone the fact that this guy can also understand them like it's no big deal (trust me, I've gotten enough weird looks when talking to Ruby when it sounds like I'm the only one talking).

"It's still pretty late, so try not to make too much noise," Yusei said.

"Oh, I can be quiet. Not sure about mister fire-breathing dragon here," I replied. I tossed the bags off of Ruby's saddle and onto the ground.

" _I can hear you, ya know. Also, it's cramped in here,"_ Ruby growled, getting himself situated. He was trying to avoid knocking anything over with his tail or wings.

"Just try not to knock over his Runner, Rube."

" _Yeah yeah, I get the idea."_ He scrunched up a bit, laying down.

"I'm going to guess he's not too happy."

"Nope, not in the slightest, but he's going to have to deal with it for right now."

" _I swear, you're getting me claustrophobic at this point."_

"Shut up, I am not." Yusei gave me a confused look. "He said he's getting claustrophobic."

"Sorry. We'll try to fix it somehow."

" _Eh, it's fine. I forgive you."_

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, you forgive him easily but not me, your _rider_?"

" _You're an ass even on the best of days."_ Must resist the urge to make a rude hand gesture.

"All right, I know that look. Come on, Ren."

"Fine, coming."

I followed Yusei further in, Ruby surprisingly staying put for once. I thought for sure he'd try to either follow us or pitch a hissy-fit over me leaving his side. Maybe he know nothing bad's gonna happen to us here? Or he's just too tired to care right now. Yeah, in thinking about it, it's probably the latter more than the former. Heaven forbid I'm alone for more than five minutes since we got here. To this world, I mean.

We got to what I guessed was the main room judging by the surroundings. Not much, but then again I've been living mostly by myself on an island a few minutes away from any towns or cities just by flying on dragon back, so who am I to judge? I got myself seated, unstrapping the prosthetic and lightly tossing it to the ground, rubbing the end of what's left of my leg. Yep, padding's definitely gone out. Wish I had future sight now 'cause I would have packed extra in that case.

"By the way, I figure you want these back," Yusei stated, handing me a very familiar bag.

I gasped, grabbing it. "My notebooks! But...how...?"

"Goodwin had them."

"Oh, that's peachy. Well, good thing I wrote the more important parts in a secret code my sister and I know."

"Does that include the field notes or not?"

"Uh...ehehehe...no, it doesn't."

"Well, that's comforting to know."

"Hey, I don't see any other dragons dropping in. Plus, I never really ran into any wild Night Furies to document nor any of the dragons that my teammates are partnered with."

"Why's that?"

"Well, I mainly let them hold onto those notes as they're to be the experts of their dragons and those of the same class as them. Also, I'm not really too keen on them at times. Don't get me wrong, I like all dragons. I just am not comfortable with the fact that Monstrous Nightmares like to set themselves on fire, Razorwhips tossing ultra sharp spines at me, or having to deal with angering a Boneknapper while they're making their armor of dragon bones."

"Danger must be the norm where you're from."

"Don't I know it?" I set the bag in my lap. "Well, I guess since my insomnia is kicking in, I might as well check to make sure all my notes are here. I'll be up for the next few hours..." I pulled out the first notebook I grabbed and started flipping through its contents.

(Yusei's POV)

 _Up for the next few hours, sure,_ I thought as, after only a few minutes, Ren was out like a light, the notebook and a few loose pages falling onto the floor. He tilted to the side and hit the other side of the couch he sat on. _I guess his insomnia is taking a vacation for the night._ I went over, bending down to pick up the papers and notebook. _Okay, wow, even with the four exceptions, he's written a lot of notes about wild dragons. A dragon that changes its look to blend in with its surroundings and spits acid? A dragon that spits boiling water? Well, don't they look and sound friendly. I don't even think Ren's descriptions were nearly this bad._

As I was picking up the notes, I stopped on one when I spotted it. The same spider mark that was on that Shadow Drone. I couldn't read any of what was in the main text, but there was a bit I could read next to the sketch of the mark (more than likely Ren's own thoughts of it). It read, "I don't know why, but this little symbol sent a shiver down my spine. I just hope those writings were exaggerating 'cause if not, this thing makes Slitherwings sound like little puppy dogs!" _Well, I have no clue what a Slitherwing is, but Ren has a bit of explaining to do._ I heard him shift a little, trying to get comfortable even though he was half laying down and half sitting up. _When he wakes up, of course._

I finished cleaning up the notes, putting them back into the bag, and getting Ren situated onto the couch. He didn't so much as twitch as I did, not even with taking his prosthetic off. _Just how tired is Ren? He's not like this unless...he's been going through nightmares for several days._ Now that I think about it, he seems to have them quite frequently. They'll ease up for a little while before sneaking back up on him when he's not expecting it. He'd be so out of it he forgot he needed the prosthetic leg to walk. I had asked him about it, but he only said that it wasn't anything to worry about and would pass. _What could have been bad enough to keep lingering in his dreams? Is it whatever accident he was in? Must have been one hell of an accident to have him lose his leg. I would have guessed a wreck if not for the fact that he had a dragon attached to his hip. It could have been anything._

I sighed. _Well, not much use on dwelling on it now, especially since I can't get any hints out of him, awake or not. I better check on these injuries of mine and get some sleep. We've got a long day of researching tomorrow._

(Scene Shift- Dream Sequence- Ren's POV)

Okay, now this is different. This isn't like the usual dreams, or nightmares, I've been used to. The location is unfamiliar and yet I feel like I should know it. As I try to look around, a loud roar catches my attention. I whirled around toward it and froze, eyes widening in shock and fear. In the distance, I see the dark-gray and red dotted hide of the last dragon anyone would want to see...a Red Death. Also known as the tyrant queen of dragons. Sure, the only accounts were from notes from Hiccup Haddock's time, or the rare few times they've been found, but there's no mistaking it.

Even at the distance I was at, I could see other shapes zipping around it, making the large dragon roar and turn its head to try to catch one only to be blasted by another. _Dragons? Well, duh, what else flies and breathes fire?_ I thought, squinting my eyes to try to catch a glimpse. Almost like this dream was granting my wish, I caught a look of one of the dragons. The dragon was big—maybe the size of a Monstrous Nightmare, yet not as big as something like a Typhoomerang—with four wings, two back legs, a small pair of horns on their head, and fur-like scales running down the top of their head down their neck like white fire, amber pupils with red sclera (from what I could catch of their eyes), and carrying a rider on their back. I couldn't see who was riding them as the dragon went out of eye sight.

 _What dragon was that? I've never seen any species like 'em. Come to think of...none of these dragons I've seen. They don't look like they're the same species, but I can't recognize them at all. Am I seeing the past? Where these dragons existed? So is this back during Hiccup's time? Before it? What?!_

Two of the dragons flew away from the Red Death while the other two kept the beast's attention. This was my chance to see the riders, finally. One of the dragons was the four winged white one while the other was a black scaled dragon with only one pair of wings, four legs, large horns that angled downward at a sharp angle, and forest-green eyes (the eyes looked rather similar to most dragons). The rider that slid off that dragon's back had medium dark brown hair and gold eyes. "We can't keep this up, brother. At this rate, our dragons will tire before this beast does," she told the other rider.

The rider of the four-winged white dragon jumped off. His hair was dark brown—darker than the other rider's—and had blue eyes, though one was clouded over with a large scar over it. "We have to keep trying. As long as that passage stays open, it could get into that other world and wreak havoc! Gods know that it doesn't need another battle to go through once those creatures are dealt with," he replied.

 _What's he talking about? Other world? Does he mean...oh my God, so this isn't the first time someone's gone across to another world?! There have been others before Eric, Laurel, Ruby, and me?!_

Another roar from the Red Death made their attention turn back to it. One of the two dragons still circling it narrowly missed getting their tail chomped off. The male rider's face turned livid. "I have a plan. You and the others go protect the gateway while I deal with this beast."

"What, no! You can't!"

"What other choice do we have? At this rate, it's only a matter of time before it sees the gateway and heads for it. I can't risk having so many people being killed by it."

"You could _die_ , brother. What would I tell him if you died?!" _Him? Who's him?_

"So, what, you want me to sacrifice him instead? Him and his people?"

"I didn't say that. Perhaps we could get them out of there, or-"

"There's not enough time for that! We'd be lucky to get a few, but everyone? Even our dragons can't carry that many people all at once!"

"But-"

"We don't have a choice. Either my partner and I stop this monster here and now, or risk hundreds of people to its destruction. We have to."

"I don't want to have to see that face again, brother. Not like when you lost..." She trailed off.

He gave a sigh, looking up to the dark clouds. "I guess if anything, I'll at least be with my daughter..." He gave a sad smile before turning serious. "Now, go! I'll lead it away and to where no one will be hurt by it again. I'll come back, I promise. At least tell him that."

"...okay..." She hurried back to her dragon, climbing on their back and tapping their sides. The dragon let out a roar.

The other two dragons got out of reach of the Red Death and flew towards her. Then, all three started flying off into the distance while the remaining rider and dragon got ready to take off.

" _So, this could be it, huh?"_ the dragon said.

"If it is, at least we'll take it down together," the rider replied. He breathed in, adding something to himself (or perhaps, whoever this 'he' is). "Wait for me, please."

The dragon read up, spreading all four wings and diving toward the Red Death. Fire started forming in both dragons' open jaws. Right as the attacks collided, a bright flash covered my vision.

(End Dream Sequence- Yusei's POV)

A loud thud followed with a groan alerted me that Ren was up. "Hello, gravity. I did not miss you," I heard him mutter.

I turned in the chair to him. "Good morning to you too, Ren," I greeted.

"How does _that_ constitute a good morning?!" He rolled onto his side, clutching his nose. "Please don't be broken..."

I got up, going over to him and kneeling down. "All right, let me see."

"Uh-uh."

"Ren, it'd be easier for someone else to look at it. Just let me see." He pulled his hands back, not getting off the floor. His nose wasn't broken, but it was scraped up. "It's fine, don't worry. At the most, it'll be red for a little while."

"Still hurts."

"Hey, at least it isn't broken."

"True." He sat up, trying to get back onto the couch.

"Need help?"

"Nah, I got it." He managed to pull himself back onto it. "See? No problem."

"All right." I got up. "By the way, can you do something for me?"

"Fire away."

"I want you to translate this page and whatever comes with it." I flipped open his notes to the page I spotted last night.

"Any reason?"

"That spider drawing on there is the same that I saw on the Shadow Drone's arm."

"Oh crap, really? I thought it was just some creepy cave drawing AJ jotted down in her notes."

"Turns out it's not just that. Also, what were you talking about as far as Slitherwings?"

"Oh, those. They're giant venomous snakes with wings."

"Again, danger must be a norm where you live."

"Well, no one said a land full of dragons was easy to live in!"

Ren pulled the notes toward himself, pulling out a pencil from his bag and taking out a blank sheet to start writing down the translation on. He was pretty immersed into it, giving a hello without looking up when Tanner and Yanagi came in. About the only time he reacted was when Ruby let out a loud snore from downstairs. "I _told_ him he snored," Ren muttered.

Almost an hour after he started, he exclaimed a, "Finished!" while holding up the papers. "And AJ really needs to start writing bigger or something. I could barely make out some of the letters."

"You want me to get it?" I asked, looking to him.

"Naw, I need to stand up, anyway. I just need to put on my leg." He set down his notes and the translation.

"Well _that's_ something you don't hear everyday," Tanner commented.

"Trust me, he's got a whole book of one-legged jokes."

"Hey, you're only saying that 'cause you don't like them," Ren retorted.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, let's go with that."

Ren got his prosthetic back on, grabbing the translated notes and bringing them over. "Ignore the bad erasing marks. I had to fix a few mistakes when I realized I read the code wrong."

"Thanks." I took the notes. I scanned through them. From what Ren translated from AJ's notes, there were some ruins with showing the spider mark as well as others, though those were a bit faded and hard to make out. The writings talked of two battles, one involving the creatures the markings represented and the other with a giant dragon that was capable of swallowing most species of dragons whole. Not much else to say what the markings were, however. "What's the dragon the ruins were talking about?"

"Dunno. There wasn't any drawings—or at least, not when AJ was over there on duty—but I would have to say it'd most likely be a Red Death or something similar. That's about one of the few dragons I can think of big enough to even swallow a Hideous Zippleback whole that doesn't live at the bottom of the ocean," Ren replied. He glared at the door when he heard Ruby roar. "Can you wait a minute, Rube?"

"Red Death?"

"Hideous Zippleback?" Yanagi asked.

"Right, I forgot. Not in my world. Well, a Red Death is this Stoker Class dragon that's at least ten stories tall standing and four hundred feet long, and a Hideous Zipple back is a dragon with two heads that-" Another roar from Ruby interrupted his explanation, causing Ren to growl slightly. "Oh my God, fine! I'm coming! Sheesh, I didn't realize my dragon became so dependant." He stormed out, grumbling a few choice curses. _I thought he said he knew this dragon for eight years. Shouldn't he be used to this by now?_

(Scene Shift- Hours Later)

Evening was setting in, and I was no closer to answers than earlier. While Ren's notes did shed some light on the spider mark, it didn't answer all the questions I had. And the searches on the Internet weren't pulling up much information on marks either. _Dammit. If this keeps up, I might have to go with Plan B. Yeah, that's going to go over well,_ I thought, continuing to type. _Especially with Ren. Speaking of..._ I glanced over at him to see he was inspecting his prosthetic leg for any other loose parts. One of the screws had fallen out, so he had to do emergency maintenance on it. Though, due to a few accidents back in Satellite, he had to replace some of the screws with extras I had lying around which didn't seem to stay in as well as the Gronckle Iron ones. "Eh, I'll get them replaced once I get back home," he had said. _That's if we can get through this mess first._ The same screw fell out, and Ren held back the curses that looked ready to come out of his mouth, reaching down to retrieve it.

Tanner walked over, setting a mug down next to me. "Hey, how's it goin'?" he asked.

"Not good. My searches on spider symbols aren't turning up any solid leads," I replied.

"I know you'll find a way to save the Satellite, Yusei," Yanagi said.

"Count on it, Yanagi." I stood up from my seat. "But first, I'm gonna have to get some answers, and only one person has them. I need to find Goodwin."

"Whoa, hold up," Ren interjected. "Are we talking about the same guy who locked you guys up, kidnapped our pals in the Satellite, almost caught Ruby and I at the same time, and forced you into a tournament?" He set his prosthetic down. "Oh yeah, sure. Let's go to the guy who's given us a heck of a lot of trouble. He's totally trustworthy!"

"Glad you agree, then."

Ren gave me a surprised look. "I was being sarcastic!"

"I know, but I'm not." He looked around as if saying 'someone help me with this.'

"But you can't trust him!" Yanagi argued.

"Yeah, and Ren's right. You forget he locked you up? Huh? He's not your friend!" Tanner added.

"But he's the only one with answers," I retorted.

"Mmph...fine, but I'm not letting you go to this guy alone. I'm coming, too," Ren said, strapping his leg back on.

"Who?" a new voice asked. We turned to see Leo and Luna standing at the door. "You're leaving? But it's not safe for you out there!"

"Please don't go!" Leo added.

"I have to," I replied. "The people in the Satellite are in danger and I have to try and help them somehow. Also, Ren, I'm not leaving you alone for five minutes. You get into too much trouble outside my watch." Said dragon rider gave me his classic 'I resent that remark' look.

"Stay here! You'll be safer in the City, 'cause who knows what's out there? And what if it's true? What if some spider's gonna destroy all of the Satellite?" Leo protested.

"He's right, don't leave! What if you get stuck and can't get back here ever again?" Luna added.

(Ren's POV)

Yusei walked over to the twins and knelt down, putting a hand on each of their shoulders and looking them in the face. "Don't worry. In fact, I already made arrangements for some backup," he told them.

"You're getting a bodyguard?" Luna asked.

 _Okay, now I'm confused. What more of backup does he need?_ I wondered. I mean, I've got a sword I can light on fire when need be (except I may have left it back in the Satellite...oops) and a fire-breathing dragon. What else is there?

Suddenly, sirens were heard coming from outside. _Oh shit!_ "Looks like my ride's here," Yusei said, standing up. _Okay, he's lost it._

All of us went to the window to see a squad of Sector Security in front of the building. One officer was one Yusei and I knew all too well (though, Yusei knows him more than I do). "Alright, Yusei, I got your message! Now get your deck and get down here! I'm not gonna wait all day just because we're teaming up temporarily, you understand me?!" Officer Trudge called through a megaphone.

"Trudge is your protection?" Tanner said in disbelief.

"You've lost it," I added aloud.

"He's more," Yusei replied

"Hmm?" we all said.

"If he gets me to Goodwin safely, we just might have to call Trudge one of the good guys."

"Yep, you've officially lost your mind. Why did I say I'm going?" I groaned.

(Scene Shift- No One's POV)

"Geez, whatever hit this place must have been one hell of a disaster," Jazz muttered.

" _Agreed,"_ Nilima nodded.

"There's got to be people around, though. Smoke's in the distance," AJ replied. "We've just got to keep looking."

"Okay, well, I don't see how Ren, Eric, and their dragons could have ended up here. If they have, they should have sent some sort of message," Jazz sighed. She looked up, seeing one of the buildings with the door down. However, something was different with this door. It looked like it was blasted off, from the inside. She headed for there, Nilima close behind.

"There must be something here. My gut's telling me that we've got to keep looking."

" _I just hope we can find a good place for the night, though,"_ Shiloh said. _"It doesn't seem like many of these places can fit both Nilima and me."_

"We'll find a place, Shi. Don't you worry."

"AJ! You might want to check this out!" AJ and the Boneknapper looked to where Jazz's voice came from.

AJ looked up at her dragon. "Stay here, Shiloh. I'll go see what they've found."

" _No objections here,"_ Shiloh said, keeping his stance as she left.

She stepped into the building, pausing at the door. "What in the name of...?" She looked at the frame, seeing the burn marks. "Those are-"

"Alyssa!" Jazz yelled, running back downstairs. She was clutching some items in her arms. "You might want to see these." She held out her arms.

AJ stepped closer, her eyes widening as she picked up the first item. It was a flight suit...Ren's flight suit. "Ren...he is here!"

(Scene Shift- Ren's POV)

"Ruby! Come on, we've got to go!" I growled, pulling on one of his legs that were up in the air.

" _Dun wanna. Too tired,"_ he groaned. My eye twitched.

"Uh, are you going to be long?" Yusei asked.

"Give me a second. I'll use my full-proof plan on waking up Ruby. Just watch." I let go of his paw, backing up as much as I could in the garage. Then I raced at him and jumped. "Body slam!" I landed right on his stomach.

Ruby let out a loud roar. _"Oh my gods, why would you do that?!"_ he snarled.

"You're the one who wouldn't wake up when I asked. You should have seen this coming."

" _Well you should have seen this coming!"_

"What are you- Aaaaah!" He managed to roll us around until I was lying on the ground face-first with him weighing my back down.

" _Ha! What do you say to that, nap-ruiner?!"_

"Get off me, ya overgrown lizard! You weigh more than a hundred times than me!"

" _Serves you right for waking me up!"_

"Yeah, we don't have time for this," Yusei sighed.

After a bit of fighting (more on Ruby and my side, though, mind you), we managed to finally get out the door. I still wasn't too happy about Yusei's plan, though, but it's a bit too late to try to get him to change his mind.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's roll out!" he said, breaking the tense air. _Let's hope we don't regret this little "truce,"_ I thought.

 **A/N: Oh my God, I'm finally done! Sorry this took forever to get out (like, what has it been, over a year since the last actual update not counting the rewrites?). I kept getting distracted by, well, everything. That, and I'm really wanting to get to the future chapters soon. Especially concerning the ones with a little CosmicInfernoShipping (not too much like in my oneshot series Surprising Each Other, but enough to tell there's feelings there). At any rate, I'll try to get part two out soon. See ya!**

 **EDIT: I can't believe I forgot this, but the scene where Ren calls Yusei crazy is a bit inspired by Elizabeth Kururugi's The Soul of the Dragon story.**


End file.
